TEL AVIV — Israel clocked 980 new cases of the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, marking the highest daily tally since the beginning of the outbreak in mid-March.
A total of 2,541 new infections have been confirmed since the beginning of the week, more than double the entire month of May.
Overall, 26,021 have been infected with the virus, the Health Ministry said, with six more people diagnosed to be in serious condition in the past day bringing that number up to 50. 321 people have died from COVID-19.
According to the Education Ministry, 1057 active coronavirus cases have been diagnosed in kindergartens and schools and as a result, 289 schools have been shuttered and 23,446 students and staff are quarantined.
The rate of positive tests is hovering around the 5 percent mark, the Health Ministry said,
Cabinet ministers on Tuesday imposed new restrictions on public gatherings, including limiting them to 50 people.
Meanwhile, in the Palestinian territories, 280 new cases were confirmed by 11am, prompting the Palestinian Authority to call a five-day lockdown in the West Bank.
“As the government sees it, the length of the lockdown will correlate directly with the level of public health consciousness of its citizens, the latter of which has not been in evidence in recent weeks. That is what caused this relapse,” Palestinian Authority spokesperson Ibrahim Milhim said.
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